Roberts makes her way to Music City via a big locational loop: She studied jazz vocal performance in Miami, then headed up to New York for an accountant-by-day/singer-by-night stint before relocating here and earning her label deal last year.

Two years removed from his stint on the sixth season of American Idol, Phil Stacey doesn’t mind taking questions about his experience on the nation’s most popular televised musical competition show.

He just wishes the questions were a bit more, shall we say, “original.”

“I know people want to know details,” Stacey says, “but the questions are mostly along the lines of ‘What was Idol like?’ How do you answer that question? ‘I was happy, I was sad, I was laughing, I was crying.’ One day, you’re reading in a newspaper that everybody loves you, the next week you’re an over-singer and ‘Why are you on the show?’ and the next week you’re great again.”

While he cherishes his experience on the FOX singing competition and recognizes it as a launching platform, Stacey sees the designation rapidly becoming less and less unique.Continue reading →